Dr Paul Kristiansen a University of New England lecturer in agricultural systems, has been paying attention to what kind of food that people put in to the shopping baskets and mouths. Dr. Kristiansen authored the 2008 Australian Organic Market Report and his findings have revealed some interesting trends in the natural foods market. The report has revealed that women make the bulk of the organic buying market.

Dr Kristiansen said “I think they are more concerned about the health of their kids, family and themselves. I think they are a little bit more cautious in thinking, if I can reduce the potential for feeding the kids stuff that may or may not have pesticides on it, that’s hopefully a good thing.” Dr Kristiansen also says that the industry has been somewhat impeded by the drought and lack of organic supply facilities. Some organic beef has been sold as non organic due to a lack of local certified organic abattoirs while other meat producers are unable to source affordable organic stock.

2/3 of the industries are made up of conventional producers who have made shift to organic. The report has shown that the organic industry is growing at a rate of 5 percent per annum and suggests that there is a shift from a trend of small organic operators to larger farms adopting organic practices. Also, there has been an 80 percent hike in the organic industry. Dr Kristiansen also attributes the boost in availability of organic food to its increased sales.

In Chiang Mai longan growers in northern Thailand have successfully sold 10 tons of peeled and dehydrated organic longan, the first pesticide free dried longan that shipped from the country.  Managing director of Prompungwahn Co., Prokchon Pramgungwahn said that “the volume is also much lower than demand warrants, and strong market growth for healthy products has prompted us to spurn chemically grown longan”.  Prompungwahn Co. is a lead company in the cluster that groups 30 longan growers in Chiang Mai and Lamphun.

The cluster was formed last year with the support of German Technical Co-operation (GTZ) and the Institute of Product Quality and Standardization of Maejo University, which aims to open niche markets and promote sustainable growth for longan growers.  The agency will take 18 months to certify all production process and give its approval.  They joined the international organic standard system in 2007 and organic longan from the 2008 cultivation season is awaiting certification from the Organic Agriculture Certification Thailand.

About 130 tons of organic longan were produce this year, and with 110 tons dehydrated to produce 10 ton of dried and peeled longan, or Lamyai Sri Thong.

Organic Alliance announced that it has agreed to implement the GS1 System to track its produce in order to improve traceability and consumer safety.  The GS1 System can play a vital role in product recalls, it enables product traceability and GS1 standards make traceability system possible on a global scale across the supply chain.  The GS1 System enables global tracing and accountability of organic produce pinpointing the farm.  GS1 is a global organization with an integrated system of standards that provides accurate identification of products and location through the use of standards, barcodes and electronic product code/radio frequency identification tag.

Tom Morrison said the chief executive officer of Organic Alliance, Inc. that “Utilizing the GS1 System, we have the ability to not only track our produce back to the farm of origin, but all the way down to the actual row on which it was grown.  The rapid growth of the organic industry makes an effective tracking system on the produce a necessity and we are pleased to take this leadership role through our initial agreement with GS1.”

Organic Alliance will only source top quality; safe tested and certified organic produce, prior to customer shipments, utilizing USDA certification in conjunction with the in house OAI Quality Team.  The Organic Alliance plans is to be one of the world’s leading providers of USDA certified organic crops to many of the country’s leading consumer package goods manufacturers, grocery, retail restaurant and food processors.

It is all natural fertilizer and environmental friendly for organic growers.  Converted Organic Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) has receive certification from the Washington State Department of Agriculture’s (WSDA) Organic Food Program for its Pacific Choice(TM) Hydrolyzed Fish fertilizer use for organic agriculture.  Converted Organics developed the product in partnership with Pacific Choice Seafood it is a Pacific Seafood Group company.

Pacific Choice(TM) Hydrolyzed Fish is an all natural fertilizer whose nutrients is from the by-product of oceangoing fish and stabilized with phosphoric acid.  Converted Organic is very pleased that they receive the WSDA’s organic certification for their Pacific Choice(TM) Hydrolyzed Fish.  The product has been specially formulated to provide organic growers with a high quality, natural liquid fish fertilizer, suitable on variety of crops.

The Converted Organics (NASDAQ:COIN) is based in Boston, MA, is dedicated to producing valuable all natural organic soil amendment or fertilizer products through food waste recycling.  The company plans to sell and distribute its fertilizer products in agribusiness markets, turf management, and in the retail.  The Converted Organics uses state-of-the-art technologies to create a product that helps grow healthier food and improve the environment.  The company’s product have been tested in numerous trials for more than a dozen crops, the result is on average, the net value of the farmer’s crop increased to 11% to 16% depending on the particular crop.  Increased use of nitrogen in commercial agriculture turf grass applications has lower the soil’s ability to absorb nitrogen and other nutrient, by using the products produced by Converted Organics helps restore the soil.  It reduces the amount of nitrogen required in a virtuous cycle that benefits from long term use.  Converted Organics’ fertilizer products will be produced in both a dry pellet and liquid concentrate.

China is going for organic food product.
A farm called Fruit Garden, Fragrant Pig an organic farm about 15 miles south of the city of Chengdu, and in China’s southern part of Sichuan province. Lou Yu is a 37 year old and owner of Fruit Garden, Fragrant Pig farm, he used to be a stockbroker earning several thousand U.S. dollars a month. When he heard about organic farming from Taiwanese friends and was intrigued by reading some books about organic farming. He spent six months driving around China, looking at conventional farms.
Luo is running his own organic farm with fruit trees, vegetables and pigs. In his farm you see plastic bottles hanging of peach and plum trees, they each have hole cut out and filled with sugar water to attract and trap bugs and insect. He expects to lose one third of his crops to bugs and another third to birds, leaving him just one third for him to sell Luo said. Luo also said that “Those bugs have the right to stay here. They are part of the food chain. If we kill them, then there will be no birds of the farm.” “Eventually, there will be only human beings on the planet and it will be a silent spring.”

Luo’s parents were surprised when he told them that he was leaving the job and going “back to the land” his parents said he was “crazy” and “going back to ancient time,” but Luo sees it differently. The economics of organic food in China don’t work in Luo Yu’s favor, there is the lower yield and in the market, organic food costs two to three times more than a conventional food which is hard to sell. Luo has about 50 buyers for his weekly market baskets. Luo used to make most of his money serving organic lunches to visitors. After the May earthquake his business plummeted and same with the restaurant who buys organic food from him. He sells about 10 percent of what he used to sell to them and even before the earthquake. Luo Yu managed to stay afloat with the help of some local investors. Luo is still committed to bring more farmers into organic and promoting organic food to the public.

Organic farming is a way of cultivation and growing of organic food in which there is no use of chemical substances. In organic farming, actually not just the consumers that benefit from the food but there are also benefits of organic farming for the farmers, these benefits are focused more on the farmers and their workers needs.

These benefits are great for the farmers and their workers who don’t wish to succumb to death or sickness. Benefits focus on the safety and health of the farmers and their workers. Organic farming does not promote the use of chemicals and other harmful substances, so there is no bad effect to the person’s health.

Another benefit of organic farming is focused on the consumers of the organic products; these benefits are for the health and safety of the consumers. Eating organic food can be greatly appreciated by the consumers when they experience less allergic reactions and lower the risk of contracting diseases caused by the chemicals. Organic farming also helps saving our environment and preventing harmful elements that can destroy the ozone layer. Farming organic food means that the soil is taken care of and the local wildlife and plant life are also taken care. No chemical in to the soil will yield a healthier soil that yield healthier crops.

The Whole Foods Market is moving and expanding its store in Rochester Hills, company credited with igniting customer interest in organic food product.  On Walton Boulevard the existing Whole Food Market is closed at the end of last week, and the new 55,000 square foot store at Walton Boulevard and Adams Road will be open Wednesday.  The manager of the new store Ron Hayek said while Whole Food is occupying a space used by Farmer Jack up until last year, all of the fixtures are new.  Hayek also said the store will also have 162 employees or double the number of the old store.

Whole Foods also used a wide array of natural and recycled materials, including recycled glass and wood, for the flooring and counter.  Hayek said “this new, larger location helps us share our enthusiasm for the freshest, most flavorful natural and organic foods available with more services”.  Whole Foods plans to open its fifth Michigan store next month on the west side of Ann Arbor.  The new Rochester Hills store is the largest Whole Foods outlet in Michigan and first new location for the company in five years.  In the entire store they have more than 200 varieties of seasonal and local produce, at least 100 of which are certified organic.

The Organic Working Party or (OWP) issued its Organic Action Plan last July 21, which delivers a route map for achieving the vision of a reliable, sustainable, self-reliant organic food sector on the Isle of Man. Organic Working Party has established that they already consume around £1.7 million worth at retail value of imported primary organic produce. All of which is potentially accessible to local producers, within 5 years based on UK and local forecasts, this grow to around £2.7 million.
“I welcome and support this Organic Action Plan which lays out the Organic Working Party’s view of how to deliver a reliable supply of high value organic food. Provides an important part of customer choice and useful contribution to a sustainable Manx farming industry for the future” said Minister for Agriculture Phil Gawne MHK. Also he continued that he will be supporting the team as they are now delivered the actions indentified in the plan. Which make real progress towards the availability of top quality Manx Organic food in the island. Viv Davies Chair of the OWP said that “The Organic Action Plan provides the market information which defines the opportunities, and also address they key issues. They now need producers, processors and retailers of all kinds to take the challenge and make this profitable opportunity happen.
Organic Working Party is a cross-industry team established by the Minister of Agriculture. The team aim has been to explore the value and accessibility of the organic food market in the island.

New report that has found that organic producer has experienced an 80 percent growth in farm gate sales and over the last four years, locally the organic market seems to be thriving. Despite the widespread drought, an organic food craze has sent business in Dubbo.  An organic farm at Elong Elong named ‘Glenbye’ Organic Farm and run by the O’Leary family.  It appears to be an average farm with cattle and sheep but it is completely chemical free and produces top quality organic meat.
Julie O’Leary said “We sell meats domestically and we also export overseas to Japan and Korea, and we are now in talks with Canada and the United Arab Emirates to export our meat there”.  The Biological Farmers of Australia found that as most farmers’ battle with drought and low sales, the organic market is showing significant growth, the report that they release.
According to Healthy Life, the drought has not affected the organic food sales.  A Healthy Life spokesperson said that “A lot more people are concerned about what they eat these days”.  The O’Leary’s who started their farm in 1987 and are pioneers in the organic product game said that there was about a 20 percent premium on organic produce than conventional produce.  Organic food is becoming popular with people who suffer from cancer.  Now Australia accounted as one of the largest amount of organic farmland in the world.

The New Zealand’s founding organic certifier celebrates its 25 years.  This year BioGro, the New Zealand’s leading organic certifier is greatly proud to be celebrating its 25 years anniversary. 
Dr. Michelle Gloga, BioGro’s CEO says “Turning 25 is a significant milestone not only for BioGro but the whole organics sector.  The industry has evolved from a grassroots cottage industry into a sophisticated, consumer focused production and distribution industry and that’s worth celebrating”.  In New Zealand, BioGro has been instrumental in steering organics.  The Bio-Dynamic Farming and Gardening Association of New Zealand, the Henry Doubleday Research Association, and the Soil and Health Association formed the New Zealand Biological Producers and Consumers Council (trading as BioGro).  The primary objective was to develop and maintain a credible and internationally respected organic standard and certification process, to safeguard the interests of producers and consumers.  Objective and founding philosophy are as fundamental to its success of BioGro’s.
Bob Crowder one of the founder and life members of BioGro’s recalls, that “ I would say that BioGro was born out of the first energy crisis in 1974 that’s what stimulated the revival of the organic movement around the world.  We had a big scare back then, which was basically the catalyst I think for it all”
BioGro’s ambition saw it develop the highest organic standards of international repute to audit and certify the processes carried out by producers.  Organic certification is currently voluntary in New Zealand but this may change if labeling regulations such as those in countries like the U.K.
Today New Zealand’s largest organic certifier BioGro with 600 licensees and over 900 certified operations.  It issues certificates to primary producers, food processors, wholesalers, distributors and retailers.